Natalie Francel-Stone is a tenacious spirit who is driven to uplift supportive, compassionate musical communities that nurture the collaborative and exploratory nature of music-making. She enthusiastically seeks to create environments that foster curiosity, creativity and autonomy in young musicians and to build a community of musical outreach to bring music from the concert hall to the people. She is active in community outreach and frequently volunteers for arts advocacy programs to make music performance accessible to all young people of all backgrounds.
Francel-Stone holds a Bachelor of Music in bassoon performance from Kansas State University and a Master of Music in bassoon performance from Wichita State University. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in bassoon performance at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she teaches bassoon skills and methods to music education majors and gives individual bassoon lessons to undergraduates. When not making music, Natalie is a writer and artist with multiple publications and exhibitions to her name. She enjoys taking care of her orange cat and (far too many) houseplants.